Completely lost when it comes to pitching

[coach james]

Go back to emulating Amanda asap...
Your dd needs to pay more attention to her body awareness. Getting fully open is a MUST.
Pulling the ball downward is a MUST.
keeping the body behind vertical (not forward) is a MUST. The stride should be approximately the pitchers height +/- a bit. Certainly not only three feet. To only get out three feet implies that she's stepping out and not driving out towards the target.
Work on these three or four suggestions while continuing to study the best pitchers in the world, constantly compare them to dd and gauge her progress from that.
Pitchers to emulate....
1. Amanda Scarborough
2. Jenny Finch
3. Cat Osterman
4. Sarah Pauley
5. Angela Tincher
6. Monica Abbott
These are just a few names you can Google to find clips on.

 

[Slappers]

The stride is where the energy for the pitch comes from. Watch the Amanda video and imagine how much energy she would either lose by cutting her stride short or by not pushing off as hard to make her stride that short. That whole video is for a product that tries to maximize the push off.

 

[SoGASoftball]

Crystol, first, be careful with advice regarding running away from her pitching coach. With only 8 lessons in, I don't think she's doing bad at all in the game. Plus, we don't know based on your posts whether or not the pitching coach is telling her to walk through her pitch, lean forward at release, or only stride out 3 feet. Now, if the coach is advocating any of these three, then yes, you would want to look for another coach.

Use this board to first get your terms straight. Talk the same language. Then, discuss Amanda's video with the coach. If he/she is trying to work toward emulating Amanda's mechanics, then stay with teh PC.

Then, learn as much from this board as possible and talk with the coach. Recommend he/she come here. And finally, make sure you, her daddy, and the PC are on the same page.

Enjoy!

 

[quincy]

It is really hard to start pitching and takes a lot of patience from all the parties. Working on stride length might break something else. In general the pitchers stride length should be longer then her height but if she goes out to far it might cause other Issues. Nothing is ever easy.

Fall ball should be winding down; I would leave her alone and let her enjoy the rest of her season. During this time look for a new pitching coach to work with her during the off season. Ask other parents, umpires, anyone who they recommend. If you provide your general area someone on the board might know someone in your area.

The PC is going to be the boss. Look for them to provide you and your DD things to work on. If you have any questions, like stride length, do not change it until you discuss it with the PC. Too many bosses and she will not get anywhere. The pitching lessons are for her and you. Soak up as much information as you can and ask questions.

 

[Crystol Owens Brown]

The pc coach has been trying to correct her leaning forward at release. Instead of starting her pitch as show by Amanda, he wants her start straight up with shoulders back. The walk through is something she is doing, the coach mentioned that after the pitch, the power should be pulling her forward not off to the left or right. The shorter stride length is what her dad is telling her to do and what he told the pc is working better for dd. The pc originally told dd to aim for her stride to be about the length of her body but after my husband told him it worked better for the short stride, it was changed. Personally, I don't think the shorter stride is what made her pitch faster but I think she is getting a better arm whip. I am no pro so if I am wrong, I have no problem with being told I am wrong.
The whole point of me asking is to understand pitching a little better and to hopefully help my dd to be a better pitcher or point her in the right direction. She practices everyday and has to be forced to take a day off.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I have a 10 yo, that i bet has been to 15 lessons. She starts lessons and then, takes a 5 month break. Anyway, her pitching is awful. She repeatedly bends completely over at the waist, as she delivers the ball. We have worked and worked on it. So, sometimes it isn't the pitching instructor's fault.

The young lady in the video, is "nose over toes" at release. She needs to pull her shoulders back and stay upright.

 

[cbullard]

I'm no expert...I come to some of the people on this post for advice! But, my daughter was told from her PC that she's not so much worried about how far her stride is...but how explosive she is. Of course she wants her to cover ground...but, they don't (right now at least) have a set mark for her to land.

 

[Jojo]

I completely agree with Sluggers here. After 8 lessons she looks like that.... time to replace PC's. As said above she looks very coordinated and athletic, but her fundamentals are off base.
There are a ton of videos online on how to pitch. The problem is most of them are backyard idiots. I'd recommend Bill Hillhouse DVD's get his newest one called 101. Or go to pauleygirlfastpitch.com and study some of Ricks clips. These should get you on track as to what you need to look for in a PC.

Whoa, I wouldn't run away so fast.
First we don't know what she looked like before 8 lessons.
She's got a lot of good things going for her right now.
An instructor can instruct a pitcher what to do but the pitcher has to work at making the corrections.

I've got kids that for years won't make corrections.

She does need to remain open though.

 

[javasource]

Read the IR and drive mechanics stickies located at the top of this forum. You have valid questions that have been addressed in much detail in those tbreads. You need answers, confidence, and direction... all of which are provided. As confusing as it is to you, I can only imagine how your DD is trying to filter all these changes. Best of luck to both of you, look forward to your questions and contributions in the future.

 

[Crystal Brown]

Whoa, I wouldn't run away so fast.
First we don't know what she looked like before 8 lessons.
She's got a lot of good things going for her right now.
An instructor can instruct a pitcher what to do but the pitcher has to work at making the corrections.

I've got kids that for years won't make corrections.

She does need to remain open though.

I do have a video taken before going to a pc. [video]https://fbcdn-video-p-a.akamaihd.net/hvideo-ak-xfp1/v/t43.1792-2/10262296_582099305245371_850118083_n.mp4?oh=6841a4 22ebce0556bdf029105f305261&oe=5436E65E&__gda__=1412883454_17952b059ebd0ed4f2fd78c610336bc c[/video]